Black Lives Matter and Anti-Racism Resources: Books to Read

Below are some eBooks in the LACC Library collection to get started. Currently enrolled Students and Faculty/Staff can access these books in full-text online via EBSCO eBooks. 

Follow the link to our OneSearch catalog, then click on the link under "View Online - Full Text Availability". You will be prompted to authenticate. Follow the instructions for remote access. 

Recommended Books

Note: Check LAPL to borrow a copy, or purchase from a Black-owned bookstore. If these books are sold out at the moment, you can still purchase audio and kindle books at any time. 

Start Here:

• Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor, by Layla F. Saad
• White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide, by Carol Anderson
• So You Want to Talk About Race, by Ijeoma Oluo
• Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, by Ibram X. Kendi
• White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism, by Robin DiAngelo

More Books to Read:

• The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, by Michelle Alexander
• How to Be an Antiracist, by Ibram X. Kendi
• Americanah, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
• Women, Race, & Class, by Angela Davis
• The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the Twenty-First Century, by Grace Lee Boggs
• Fatal Invention: How Science, Politics, and Big Business Re-create Race in the Twenty-first Century, by Dorothy Roberts
• The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison
• The Autobiography of Malcolm X, by Malcolm x and Alex Haley
• Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?, by Beverly Daniel Tatum
• The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America, by Richard Rothstein
• Between the World and Me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates
• My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies, by Resmaa Menakem
• Have Black Lives Ever Mattered?, by Mumia Abu-Jamal
• The Fire Next Time, by James Baldwin
• Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America, Michael Eric Dyson
• Mindful of Race: Transforming Racism from the Inside Out, by Ruth King

Reading List

• Schomburg Center Black Liberation Reading List

For 95 years, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture has preserved, protected, and fostered a greater understanding of the Black experience through its collections, exhibitions, programs, and scholarship. In response to the uprisings across the globe demanding justice for Black lives, the Schomburg Center has created a Black Liberation Reading List. The 95 titles on the list represent books we and the public turn to regularly as activists, students, archivists, and curators, with a particular focus on books by Black authors and those whose papers we steward.

Adapted from 

http://antiracismforbeginners.com/

https://sva.libguides.com/antiracist/books 

bit.ly/ANTIRACISMRESOURCES 

Want a physical book to hold in your hands and keep in your collection? Purchase online from a Black-owned Bookstore. 

California​

• Shades of Afrika Long Beach, CA
• Eso Won Bookstore Los Angeles, CA
• Reparations Club Los Angeles, CA
• Malik Books Los Angeles, CA
• Ashay by the Bay Vallejo, CA
• Marcus Books Oakland, CA (local phone orders)
• Old Capitol Books Monterey, CA
• Carol’s Books Sacramento, CA 
• Underground Books Sacramento, CA  (local phone orders)

Online Only

• Loving Me Books
• Kizzy’s Books & More
• Black Classic Press
• Key Bookstore
• The Literacy Shop
• 44th & 3rd

Outside California

• Pyramid Art Books & Custom Framing Little Rock, AR
• Burgundy Books Old Saybrook, CT
• Mahogany Books District of Columbia
• Sankofa Video Books & Cafe District of Columbia
• Loyalty Bookstore District of Columbia
• Solid State Books District of Columbia
• Pyramid Books Boynton Beach, FL
• Dare Books Longwood, FL
• Cultured Books St. Petersburg, FL
• Best Richardson African Diaspora Literature & Culture Museum Tampa, FL
• Medu Bookstore Atlanta, GA (online bookstore launches soon)
• For Keeps Bookstore Atlanta, GA
• Good Books Atlanta, GA
• Onyx Bookstore Cafe Covington, GA
• The Listening Tree Decatur, GA
• Brave + Kind Bookshop Decatur, GA
• Black Dot Cultural Center Lithonia, GA
• All Things Inspiration Giftique Mableton, GA
• NuBian Books Morrow, GA (local phone orders)
• Frontline Bookstore Chicago, IL
• Semicolon Bookstore & Gallery Chicago, IL
• The Underground Bookstore Chicago, IL (local phone orders)
• Afriware Books, Co Maywood, IL
• The Brain Lair Bookstore South Bend, IN
• Beyond Barcodes Bookstore Kokomo, IN
• Akoma Novelties & Books Evansville, IN
• Community Book Center New Orleans, LA (local phone orders)
• Everyone’s Place Baltimore, MD (local phone orders)
• Wisdom Book Center Gwynn Oak, MD
• Loyalty Bookstore Silver Spring, MD
• Frugal Bookstore Boston, MA
• Susie’s Stories Rockport, MA
• Olive Tree Books N Voices Springfield, MA (local phone orders)
• Source Booksellers Detroit, MI
• Detroit Book City Detroit, MI
• Nandi’s Knowledge Cafe Highland Park, MI
• Black Stone Bookstore & Cultural Center Ypsilanti, MI
• EyeSeeMe University City, MO
• Willa’s Books and Vinyl Kansas City, MO
• Bliss Books & Wine Kansas City, MO
• Shelves Charlotte, NC
• Aframerican Book Store Omaha, NE
• La Unique African American Books & Cultural Center Camden, NJ
• The Lit. Bar New York, NY
• Cafe con Libros New York, NY
• Sister’s Uptown Bookstore New York, NY
• Zawadi Books Buffalo, NY (local phone orders)
• Elizabeth’s Bookshop & Writing Centre Akron, OH
• A Cultural Exchange Cleveland, OH
• Alkebulan Ujaama Book Store Columbus, OH (local phone orders)
• Mocha Books Tulsa, OK
• Books & Stuff Philadelphia, PA
• Uncle Bobbie’s Coffee & Books Philadelphia, PA
• Harriett’s Bookshop Philadelphia, PA
• The Tiny Bookstore Ross Township, PA
• Turning Page Bookshop Goose Creek, SC
• Black Pearl Books Austin, TX
• Pan-African Connection Dallas, TX
• Enda’s Booktique Duncanville, TX
• The Dock Bookshop Fort Worth, TX
• Black World Books Killeen, TX
• Harambee Books and Artworks Alexandria, VA
• Urban Moon Books Chesapeake, VA
• House of Consciousness Norfolk, VA
• Books and Crannies Martinsville, VA
• Positive Vibes Virginia Beach, VA

Adapted from LitHub